Montana judge upholds tobacco tax initiative
HELENA — An initiative that would increase Montana’s tobacco taxes by $45 million a year and use some of the money for health care programs is not unconstitutional and can stay on the November ballot, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Although District Judge Dorothy McCarter of Helena rejected all of the claims against the initiative itself, she rewrote what she found was a misleading and inaccurate attorney general’s explanation of what the measure will do.
She said the wording, which will appear on the general election ballot, failed to clearly explain that certain programs will be funded with the increased taxes only if the Legislature creates them. McCarter also faulted the statement of purpose for not accurately reflecting how much of the money will go to certain government programs.
But, most significantly, she found no flaw in Initiative 149 that would make it unconstitutional. The measure does not improperly appropriate money and does not contain multiple subjects, McCarter said.
No money can be spent from the increased taxes until the Legislature authorizes it and the entire initiative deals with the general issue of tobacco taxes, she concluded.
She also said the attorney general’s statement was correct in saying I-149 would not affect current funding of the state veterans’ homes.
The legal challenge to the measure came from veterans’ organizations, tobacco wholesalers, convenience store owners and tobacco makers.
Kati Kintli, an attorney for those interests, said the ruling was being reviewed and a decision on whether to appeal to the Montana Supreme Court must be made within five days.
State Solicitor Brian Morris said he has no problems with McCarter’s editing of the ballot measure statements for I-149 and he applauded the judge’s decision to uphold the initiative.
“Once again, Judge McCarter affirmed the people of Montana’s right to enact laws through the initiative process,” he said, noting that her ruling makes it clear that a single ballot measure can legally change more than one law without violating the constitutional ban on multi-subject initiatives.
“You don’t need serial initiatives to accomplish a single purpose,” Morris said.
I-149 would raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes from 70 cents to $1.70.
The tax on chewing tobacco would more than double from 35 cents an ounce to 85 cents, and the tax rate on other tobacco products would increase from 25 percent to 50 percent of the wholesale price.
The changes would take effect Jan. 1 and produce an additional $44.7 million in the first full year, according to estimates from the governor’s budget office.
About 86 cents of every additional dollar would be spent on two new programs to help small businesses provide health insurance for employees and to help pay for prescription drugs for poor children.